Green Bay — The Green Bay Packers figured out how to defend the read-option for their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers and came up with a solid plan to limit their passing yards in the playoff rematch Sunday.

But they continue to be a step behind the 49ers and their dynamic quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, who this time scrambled around for 98 yards on seven carries in sticking it to the Packers once again.

As losers of four straight to the 49ers — three of them with Kaepernick at the controls — the Packers have not shown an ability to contain the damage Kaepernick does with his prodigious athletic ability.

Holding the 49ers to 23 points in a wild-card playoff loss in the frigid cold was a pretty good feat considering the defense was without linebacker Clay Matthews (thumb) and lost a pair of starters, cornerback Sam Shields (knee) and linebacker Mike Neal (knee), early in the game.

But when push came to shove, Kaepernick was on a different plane athletically than the majority of Packers defenders.

"Stating the obvious, the one common thread is we haven't stopped the quarterback," coach Mike McCarthy said. "The quarterback's had three big games against us with his three opportunities. We need to do a better job there."

The game Sunday begged for an impact player the caliber of Matthews or Charles Woodson or Nick Collins to neutralize Kaepernick. The closest the Packers had to that Sunday was cornerback Tramon Williams, who did all he could with an interception and two pass breakups.

"You have to have two or three guys that I consider difference-makers," defensive coordinator DomCapers said. "... Look at the Super Bowl game, we had an interception returned for a touchdown (from Collins), Clay knocked the ball out for a fumble, Jarrett Bush's interception. You make those kinds of plays in a game, that's what normally gives you a chance."

The Packers were mostly devoid of those type of players Sunday.

Shields is close to that caliber and if retained in free agency could develop into an impact player. Cornerback CaseyHayward seemed headed that way until tearing his hamstring early in the year. Defensive lineman Mike Daniels might be a year away from reaching that status.

But missing from the list are these notable first-round picks: B.J. Raji (2009), Nick Perry (2012) and DatoneJones (2013). None of them proved to be that kind of player this year. Defensive end Jerel Worthy, a second-rounder in 2012, never got off the ground while recovering from an ACL tear.

Capers' hope is that someone emerges the way Williams, Shields, Collins and Matthews did.

"The encouraging thing is you're talking about a bunch of young guys and guys that need every OTA, they need all the training camp practices and all of those kind of things because young guys, they can make great strides," Capers said. "You've seen them out here, the number of guys that we've played at times, that we depend on them to make great strides.

"A big part of that is being able to stay healthy, stay on the field."

The next question is whether general manager Ted Thompson can find a safety, an inside linebacker, a nose tackle or a pass rusher who can give the Packers someone else with the ability to contain Kaepernick.

Ultimate challenge: McCarthy, in his last scheduled news conference of the season, admitted he's never gone through anything tougher than this season.

He lost quarterback Aaron Rodgers for seven games. He lost receiver Randall Cobb and tight end Jermichael Finley for most of the season. He never had Hayward, tackle Bryan Bulaga and running back DuJuan Harris. Matthews was only healthy for three complete games.

"Clearly the most challenging season," McCarthy said. "I look back at my first year, there were points of that season, the first game ... there were certain points in that season I felt like I got ran over by a truck.

"This year, it just seemed like it never stopped. I can remember sitting here with Ted on Mondays and Tuesday and a number of times we didn't even have 42, 43 players that were going to be ready to play on Sunday."

McCarthy said the difficulties must provide a lesson for the future. He said just watching how the team hung together offered some insights.

"Things show up that you may not think were there," he said. "With that, it just gives you more information, gives you more of an opportunity to grow."

Uncertain futures: The Packers wouldn't clear Collins to play after his cervical fusion surgery.

Now they have two more players to evaluate — and they're both free agents. Finley had spinal fusion surgery after his scary neck injury against Cleveland. Defensive end Johnny Jolly suffered a bulging disc at the C-5 vertebra.

McCarthy said he hasn't seen Finley in "about two weeks," saying he's still going through rehab and splitting time between Green Bay and Minneapolis.

Jolly, meanwhile, is seeking a second opinion on his neck in Chicago.

After three years out of football, Jolly had 21 tackles in 13 games. Finley had 25 receptions for 300 yards and three touchdowns in five full games.

Line dance: The Packers won't name David Bakhtiari their starting left tackle yet. With Bulaga returning from a torn ACL, they expect competition on the offensive line in 2014.

It's a "good situation to have," offensive line coach James Campen said.

The Packers have options this season. Also returning are right tackle Don Barclay and (a finally healthy) DerekSherrod.

"He learned as he went along," Campen said of Bakhtiari. " ... He's an ascending player who's going to be in the mix for quite some time. He has proven that. A very smart, intelligent kid that works extremely hard."